Breaking: Nigerian Athletes Ashe, Brume, and Onwuzurike create milestones at NCAA Championships

Posted : 08 June 2023

In a groundbreaking moment for US college track and field, three Nigerian male sprinters, Favour Ashe, Godson Brume, and Udodi Onwuzurike, have secured their spots in the 100m final at the NCAA Championships.

This remarkable achievement marks the first time in NCAA history that three Nigerian athletes will compete in a 100m final.

During the semifinals, the trio delivered exceptional performances, setting record-breaking times and etching their names in the history books.

Ashe, representing Auburn University, dominated semifinal 2 with an astonishing Personal Best (PB) of 9.96s, securing his automatic qualification for the final.

Not only did he tie the School Record (SR), but he also surpassed his previous best time of 9.99s, achieved when he won the Nigerian championships in 2022.

Ashe's impressive performance now places him as the joint eighth-fastest on the all-time Nigerian list, alongside Raymond Ekevwo.

Similarly, Brume, competing for Louisiana State University, won the third semifinal with a remarkable lifetime best of 9.93s, securing his place in the final.

Brume's time makes him the second-fastest in his school's history and the fourth-fastest on the all-time Nigerian list.

Notably, Ashe and Brume's exceptional runs have also qualified them for the World Championships in Budapest, as they surpassed the automatic qualifying time of 10.00s.

The third finalist, Onwuzurike, representing Stanford University, clocked a time of 10.04s, earning one of the two non-automatic qualifying spots.

His achievement marks a significant milestone for his university, as he becomes the first athlete since 1963 to advance to an NCAA 100m final.

Impressively, all three athletes have met the World Championships qualifying standard for Budapest, with Onwuzurike having previously clocked 9.92s at the NCAA West Preliminaries.

Onwuzurike's outstanding performance extended beyond the 100m, as he blazed through the 200m semifinal with a blistering time of 19.76s.

This achievement ranks him third on the NCAA all-time list, surpassing his previous PB of 19.91s.

Onwuzurike's time places him second on the all-time Nigerian list, just behind Divine Oduduru's 19.73s.

It also positions him as the second-fastest on the world's top list, trailing only World champion Noah Lyles's 19.67s.

With such impressive form, Onwuzurike has a chance to medal in both events or even achieve the rare feat of winning both sprint titles, a feat last accomplished by a Nigerian athlete in 2019 by Divine Oduduru.

Ashe, Brume, and Onwuzurike have the potential to make history by securing a Nigerian 1-2-3 finish in the final.

If they achieve this remarkable feat, it will stand as a monumental accomplishment for non-American athletes in NCAA 100m history.

Breaking: Nigerian Athletes Ashe, Brume, and Onwuzurike create milestones at NCAA Championships

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